The feeling of familiarity Liam had been getting had turned into a strange sense of surety. He knew this girl from somewhere, that fact was obvious. The question that realization left behind however, was...
Who exactly is she?
Soon, the two had reached the door to their classroom.
It was a simple one: a sleek silver handle-less door with the number '1' boldly embossed on it. When the girl stepped forward, the door slid open to reveal the empty classroom behind it.
Liam noted the sharp, minty smell that poured out of the room even as the girl walked in. He soon followed, taking note of the space he just entered.
Then he froze as one particular detail stuck out, glaringly so.
Liam's eyes saw the large peach colored walls, the large windows at either side, the smart board and the teacher's platform along with a large podium. He noted the number of desks, one, two three,. . .twenty four in total, arranged in columns of eight and rows of three. All these he took stock of in an instant.
What had frozen him was the fact that the room was currently occupied by roughly seven other people...all of which he studied in that moment.
Standing beside a desk in front was a tall rugged looking blond with inky black eyes that made his amber irises pop out. His mouth set in a quiet frown, and when he looked at Liam they seemed to fill up with something similar to...disdain. Sitting on the desk-top beside him was a slightly shorter, raven haired boy. He wore slim rectangular shades that further enhanced his near-perfect good looks, and he exuded nothing but confidence and strength. His body, much like his companion's, looked to be at its physical peak, despite looking leaner than would be expected.
Further away, at the center of the classroom, sat a group of three boys. Two were sitting on desktops, and the other was sitting on the actual seat. They were all strikingly good looking, and they seemed to all have some form of bond between them.
One of the boys had coal black hair with streaks of crimson in it. His eyes were a striking gold, and they were as hard as tempered steel. That along with his mysterious aura and sun-tanned skin made his impressive good looks even more apparent. Those eyes of his had already noted the new arrivals, and had dismissed them in disinterest.
The other two were quite different as well. One was all smiles, smiles that seemed to spark with life. His teal blue hair stood on end, making his head resemble that of a blue hedgehog. If one looked closely, it would appear that the 'sparks of life' were not so...metaphorical...
The other boy gave off a more timid vibe. His shoulder length hair was a soft brown and tied back, but one rogue strand of lone green hair dangled in front of his left eye. His skin was a milky white, contrasting sharply to his black haired friend. Though he was smiling, a closer look would reveal the guarded, almost scared, look in his eyes.
The last two were sitting parallel to the trio of boys, near the windows on the wall opposite the entrance. One was a beautiful dark skinned girl who wore her long black hair in waist length dreadlocks beaded with gold. She wore three bracelets on each wrist, and she was currently rummaging through a small bag resting on her hip.
Her companion was a shorter, pale skinned girl. She possessed short green hair, some of which fell in front of her face, shading it. You could tell from a glance that she was the timid type, but also the type to open up once you got to know her.
All of them had turned to the door when it opened, and most of them left their gaze on the newcomers for a little more than a moment. Liam felt the gazes like searing irons on his skin. His reaction was slightly uncalled for though...
...After all, they were studying both newcomers. Unfortunately, Liam was used to having little or no attention paid to him by anyone except his family, so he was blinded to that fact. At that point in time, he felt like a deer trapped in the headlights of a car. One that was about to get run over.
Smack!
"Loosen up will ya?" the girl said after hitting Liam on the back. She shook her head and turned to smile at the others.
"Hi," she said with a small wave.
"Hey. Nice to meet ya," the boy with teal blue hair grinned back. He then turned to look at Liam with the same smile on his handsome face.
"Hey man. How's it going?"
Liam was in almost two completely different states: his body was frozen, but his mind was in overdrive trying to think of a response. A part of him wondered if he was overthinking it, but the other part assured him otherwise.
Thinking is the easiest way to solve a problem!
After two seconds of hard thinking, Liam opened his mouth, rose a hand and nodded.
A simple response that doesn't give too much or too little familiarity! Its perfect!
Liam turned to the smart board, not waiting to see the response. His eyes scanned it quickly, and he stopped at one name in shock.
Right up on the board, the answer to the question he'd asked himself was displayed on the smart board in semi-holographic lettering.
[HUNTER CLASS ORDER OF MERIT]
1. Saare, Kazumi
2. Paxton J. Liam
3. Lieren, Lee
4. Daniels, Hannah
5. Raidou, Lloyd
6. Raidou, Rex
7. Ares, Jay
8. Quansah, Duke
9. Glacier, Elsie
10. Manabe, Lisa
11. Quansah, Eris
12. Cristal, Jane
13. Mohsion, Kofi
14. Morgan, Faust
15. Demeter, Jade
16. Wolfe, Tiffany
17. Osgood, Ruby
18. Herb, Zoe
19. Point, Nelly
20. Caesar, Augustus
21. Kirin, Nanami
22. Hagan, Steve
23. Wing, Jason
24. Axel, Jeremy
Lisa...
Liam's eyes widened as the entire sequence of events that had happened up till then suddenly made perfect sense.
The seeming over-familiarity, the nagging feeling that he knew her from somewhere, the fact that she knew his name. It, it...
It all makes sense now, Liam thought while glancing back at her.
"...I'll talk to you later then," Lisa Manabe smiled at the spiky haired boy, who grinned and walked back to his friends.
Lisa turned to Liam with a small smile on her face, a smile which turned mischievous the moment she saw the light of recognition in Liam's eyes.
"Took you long enough," she smirked. "For someone so smart not to remember an old friend like me is shocking."
Liam was immediately hit by a deluge of memories, all of them about a small, brash, short-haired tornado of a tomboy who constantly got them into trouble as kids.
The girl who was his closest friend since elementary school.
Lisa frowned and folded her arms, giving Liam a pointed look.
"Hey doofus, what's with that look on your face?"
Bent over, Liam's face had turned into one of relief, and a small smile lit up his otherwise tired looking face.
"I'm just...relieved that I know someone who goes here," Liam sighed quietly, not wanting to disturb the others. "It's...nice to see you again Lisa. Even though it's been a few years."
"Four if I'm not mistaken," the girl nodded.
The two fell silent for a few moments, and Liam began to feel a sort of awkward tension in the air.
It really has been four years huh...time really does change a person. I'm really happy a friend of mine's here though, no matter how weak our current relationship is.
To Liam, just having a familiar face around was enough to start relaxing him. If there was anything he enjoyed more, it was the presence of something he already kne-
"Hey."
Liam blinked and rose his head to see Lisa scowling.
"What's up?" he asked in confusion.
Lisa palmed her face in exasperation and looked at him through the gap between her middle and index fingers.
"How did you change your attitude towards me so quickly?" she grumbled and let her hand fall to her side. "One minute you're a stammering mess, the next you seem perfectly calm...wipe that look off your face."
Liam's mouth had curled up into a half smirk, and knowing full well the message his smug expression gave, he opened his mouth and said in a quiet but perplexed voice:
"What expression?"
Lisa's eyes narrowed. "That one."
"How would I know what's on my face?"
"Wooooww. Real smart doofus."
Liam chuckled even as Lisa punched him lightly in the shoulder.
"Let's go doofus," Lisa said quietly as she turned to the exit/entrance.
Liam didn't reply, knowing instinctively that whatever they would do would disturb the others.
She's pretty attentive.
****
Ten minutes later, after leaving the classroom area...
"How'd you recognize me?" Liam asked, genuinely curious. "I'm pretty sure I've changed a fair amount from before."
Lisa, who was walking beside him, glanced up at him through her long eyelashes and sighed.
"Apart from growing taller and becoming way more solid, your vibe is almost completely the same. Also, how many people out there do you think have near-perfect rainbow eyes?"
Liam shrugged. "People with shapeshifting Venma I guess."
Lisa sighed, shaking her head before looking away and saying in a small voice, "You didn't recognize me though."
"Ack...," Liam coughed. "That's because, um..., you've changed a lot more than I expected."
"Oh really?" Lisa gave him a doubtful side eye.
Liam gulped silently. "Y-yeah! Your hair's longer for one, and you're way less...um...rowdy. You're more...elegant? Yeah that's it."
Lisa remained silent for a few heart pounding moments, then she chuckled.
"Someone really worked on that tongue of theirs," she smiled. "Flattery will get you nowhere though."
Liam sighed internally, relieved. He felt a slight bit of accomplishment, even though the situation really didn't seem like something he should have felt accomplishment for.
"Hey Liam...," Lisa started. "How...how've you been?"
Liam turned his head to look at her, and that's when he saw the look of uncertainty on her beautiful face. That's when it hit him properly: they were basically strangers. Four years of separation had dulled whatever bonds of friendship they had had.
Liam faced forward, a complicated expression present in his eyes. Did he want to re-establish the bonds they'd had before, or did he want them to remain acquaintances?
Liam gave a small frown and shook his head. I'm overthinking this. She's still an old friend, no matter the distance.
"You have a bad habit of staring into space whenever someone asks you something Liam. It makes the air feel awkward."
Liam flinched and turned to look at her. Both of them stopped walking, and Lisa turned to face him. She was smiling a little, but Liam could see the hint of uncertainty underneath it, along with something else...something he couldn't quite catch. He opened his mouth to speak...
"I...um..."
...But his stammer stood in his way.
Lisa scratched the back of her head and nodded.
"Well, I'll...I'll be going then. See you tomorrow."
Lisa turned away and began to walk.
Wait a minute, Liam thought as he rose a hand. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.
I really suck don't I, Liam closed his eyes. Am I really just going to let an old friend walk off in disappointment?
Liam's mind went into overdrive, thinking of a way to salvage the situation. He went through countless ways to apologize or make a joke or say something profound, but when he opened his eyes and mouth, some strange instinct manipulated his tongue into saying:
"Hey Lisa," he called out to the girl who was only a few meters away.
"Wanna come to my dorm so we can catch up?"